Paul SCHOLES

Paul Scholes was, surprisingly, the last of the famous Class of '92 graduates to earn an international cap, following his academy buddies Beckham, Butt and the Nevilles into the England set-up, even though he was arguably the first to become an established first-teamer at Old Trafford. The initial headache with Scholes, nice one though it was, concerned his best position. As a teenager he was a marauding second striker, playing behind a poacher and providing exceptional link play, but eventually he settled down a little deeper in the team, playing as the main box to box player who was immediately comparable to David Platt in terms of rounding off a fine engine and astute appreciation of the positioning of his team-mates with a knack of being deadly in front of goal. Although comparisons were loath to be made within footballing circles, it seemed that Scholes had the prowess of Platt with the demeanour, modesty and off-pitch behaviour of Peter Beardsley (though he was less angelic on the pitch at times). Glenn Hoddle gave him his debut in May 1997 against South Africa (the photo above is during the game) at Old Trafford, of all places, and Scholes had a devilishly impressive opening game for his country even though he wasn't introduced until the second half as a sub for Teddy Sheringham.

When England then went off to Le Tournoi, Paul started in the opener against Italy in Nantes and created the first goal for Ian Wright with a terrific long ball which the Arsenal man finished in typically fine style. Scholes himself then scored a cracking goal to round off an impressive 2-0 win for England. Such was his impact that Hoddle threw him into the forthcoming World Cup qualifier against Moldova and he opened the scoring in a 4-0 win; he then scored again at Wembley in a friendly against Cameroon, this time playing as a rare out-and-out frontman alongside Robbie Fowler. Three goals from five appearances for his country was an awesome start from a player who was rapidly gaining friends, and as England had secured their place at the World Cup, he was being tipped as a player who could light up the tournament, even though his own comparative inexperience was quickly pushed into the shadows by the emergence of teenage striker Michael Owen. This suited Scholes, who was never comfortable in the limelight, and by the time he was named in Hoddle's squad for France, he had seven caps and a lot of expectation on his broad shoulders. (Matthew Rudd)

Glenn Hoddle put Scholes at the head of a triangular midfield for the opening group game against Tunisia in Marseille. With wingbacks providing outlets and David Batty and Paul Ince the considerable strength behind him, Paul was given a licence to roam, support and dominate the midfield. This he did, crowning a superbly mature display with a stunning goal to wrap up the 2-0 win (see photo above, a delighted Paul celebrating with Sol Campbell, Graeme Le Saux and Alan Shearer). Ince's burst from deep took Scholes' marker away and he hung back to take the loose ball as Ince was challenged. Forced backwards by the ball's pace, Paul twisted his right foot round the ball and sent a tremendous curling shot into the far corner. He stayed in the side for the remaining group games as England went through to a second round clash with Argentina. Scholes famously managed to get out of the way of an express-paced Michael Owen as the teenage wonderboy scored his fantastic goal, but a missed chance from Paul that would have put England 3-1 up proved to be costly. A tiring Scholes was later substituted by Paul Merson as 10 man England worked their socks off to stay level following the dismissal early in the second half of Paul's United team mate David Beckham. England suffered yet more disappointment in the penalty shoot-out but Scholes was now an established worldwide star, quietly but firmly becoming one of England's most crucial players. Hoddle gave him three more caps before losing his job after his foot-in-mouth farce, but successor Kevin Keegan gave Scholes more status in the team as England resumed their qualification campaign for the 2000 European Championships.

In March 1999, England beat Poland 3-1 at Wembley in Keegan's first game, and Paul struck a superb hat-trick. However, the work was undone two games later when England were held 0-0 by Sweden and Scholes committed two daft fouls which deservedly earned him a yellow card for each, thus becoming the first England player to be sent off at Wembley. Paul served his ban and England did enough to get a play-off chance for a place in the finals, and none other than Scotland emerged from the draw. Scholes put away two confident goals in a one-sided first leg at Hampden Park; yet he barely got a kick in the second leg at Wembley as England were dismally outplayed and out thought, surviving by the skin of their teeth to lose only 1-0 and go to the finals. Scholes was now playing as the main attacking threat from England's central midfield, supporting the two centre forwards (usually Owen and Alan Shearer) and gaining insurance from a more destructive player behind him (usually Ince). By the time England went to the Low Countries for the finals, Scholes was 24 caps into his England career and was again expected to be among the goals. He didn't disappoint, planting a superb header in off the bar in the opening ten minutes of the game against Portugal, but England still lost 3-2 after being 2-0 up. A lack of defensive versatility led to England's downfall from the group as a second defeat against Romania proved crucial. (Matthew Rudd)

Kevin Keegan quit later in the year after a defeat to Germany in the opening qualifier for the 2002 World Cup in Wembley's last game, and again Scholes found himself needing to please a new manager. He was still a worshipped part of the ultra-successful Manchester United set-up and when Sven Goran Eriksson took the job Paul was duly named in his first squad for a friendly against Spain, winning his 31st cap. When the World Cup qualifiers resumed, Scholes scored the opener in a 3-1 win over Albania and the second in a fine 2-0 win over Greece in Athens, while also contributing a goal in a 4-0 friendly win over Mexico at Derby in between. Paul started every one of England's qualification matches as the rescue act by Eriksson was completed and England booked their place. He featured in four of the five preparation games prior to the finals in Japan and South Korea and was expectedly in the midfield, with his Manchester United team-mate Nicky Butt now as his insurance behind him, when Eriksson named his team for the opening game against Sweden, which England drew 1-1. Scholes started the fine 1-0 win over Argentina and the professional 0-0 draw with Nigeria which followed, securing a place in the second round against Denmark. Paul was involved in two of England's goals as they swept the Danes aside 3-0 but when Brazil came along in the quarter-finals, it was a different matter. Scholes was beaten in a tackle right on half-time which led to Brazil's equaliser after Owen had put England ahead, and ultimately Brazil eliminated England 2-1, with little ambition shown by England even after Brazil were reduced to ten men. Eriksson kept faith with Scholes afterwards and he won his 50th cap in the opening qualifier for the 2004 European Championships against Slovakia.

He played a team game through the whole qualification campaign, a selfless attitude which kept the majority on his side even though he hadn't scored since the World Cup qualifier against Greece. The duck was finally broken in style, at the finals themselves in Portugal, as Scholes stooped to deflect a header home against Croatia in England's third and final group game, winning 4-2 and earning a quarter-final against the hosts in the process. After an incident-packed, end-to-end 120 minutes, the game ended 2-2 and the penalty shoot-out beckoned. Paul had been substituted by Phil Neville as Eriksson tried to protect a 1-0 lead with an hour left, and that was that for his England career, even though it seeemd certain he could still offer more. Scholes, now a family man and therefore even more protective of his privacy and his priorities, announced his premature retirement from international football at the age of 29 after 66 caps and 14 goals. There's little doubt that Eriksson would have continued to pick him through the campaign to reach the 2006 World Cup - his form at Manchester United didn't alter, and along with his academy contemporaries David Beckham and Gary Neville, Paul would have seriously threatened to break the 100 cap mark. But the decision typified the Scholes personality and no amount of cajoling over the telephone from Eriksson could persuade him back. Scholes' legacy as an England player was of a consistent, untroublesome and enormously talented player who could be both brilliantly individualised and a splendid component of a team. (Matthew Rudd)